At Any Cost (Part 2)

The city was quiet. Very quiet. It wasn't because the people were quiet. It was because Chris had zoned out. His mind kept going back to the night they were attacked. What would've happened if he had run away? Could he have gotten to Jason in time, then they could've fought their Nomu's together? Or did it not matter, and Jason had been abducted long before Chris could've gotten there. A light nudge snapped him out of his thoughts. Chris looked over and saw Shoto. She has been holding up better than he has, but was still torn apart over the whole situation. "We'll find him, Chris." He looked away, looking down at the street below. "...and what if we don't?" Shoto also looked down at the street. "...then we kill every single League of Villains member we can find."

Momo was exhausted. She had been working nonstop for almost 24 hours now. Mina walked into the office and put down a cup of coffee in front of Momo. "Hey." Momo looked up from her computer. It took her a full second to realize that Mina had just given her coffee. "...oh. Thank you." "Go sleep." Momo shook her head. "Not until we-" "Momo. Go take a nap. I'll take over." Momo sighed and went to a seperate office, which had some cots set up. The students all refused to leave the Endeavor Agency with the exception of patrols and investigating possible League of Villain hideouts. They used the gym showers to clean themselves and their relatives would bring them spare clothes while their hero uniforms were being washed. Kirishima was still asleep. He had finished a 24 hour phone watch and had been asleep for almost 10 hours now. Momo laid down in the cot next to him. She pulled the thin blanket over herself and passed out almost immediately.

Endeavor, Fatgum, and Tamaki all entered the office just as Mina was sitting down. She had gotten a few hours of sleep, so she was relatively well rested. "Did you find anything?" Fatgum forced a smile. "Good morning to you too." Mina sighed and smiled. "Sorry. Good morning." Fatgum sat down at his temporary desk. "No, none of us could find anything." "Damn it." Endeavor walked to his office and checked his office phone. He had a few messages, but none of them were from the Agencies who were also looking for leads on Jason's whereabouts. Endeavor ignored the other calls and sat down at his computer, going to the map and striking off another potential location. He was starting to get angry. His daughter was very distressed as a result of all of this. Not to mention that UA was under fire for once again losing another student to the League of Villains. On a personal note, Endeavor himself was being called into question. Nobody trusted him to take the position of the Number One Hero. If he couldn't save Jason, then people would lose faith not only in Endeavor, but in heroes across the country. Worst case scenario, failing to save Jason could mean the people losing faith in the very idea of a Symbol of Peace.

Chris and Tamaki were in charge of the night shift. They were waiting for potential leads to come in from either the police or a Hero Agency. Tamaki looked over at Chris. "How long have you known him?" "Known who?" "Jason." Chris looked out the window at the street, which was lit up by the light poles. "Since I was around eight. We practically grew up together." "How did you meet?" Chris was able to manage a small smile. "He saved me from a couple of bullies. That was back when we- when he was pretending to be quirkless." Tamaki looked confused. "Why would Jason pretend to be quirkless?" "He hasn't told us, but it's clearly something he doesn't want to talk about. Either way, he's the best fighter in our class with or without his quirk." Tamaki nodded. "I know what it's like to not be able to help your best friend. Sometimes, I wonder if Mirio would still have his quirk if I had walked home with him the day he lost it. I wish I could-" Chris picked up the phone milliseconds after it rang. "Endeavor Hero Agency, Impact speaking, how can I help you?" "Hello, this is Sergeant Johnson of Santa Cruz Police. We received an anonymous phone call about a possible League of Villains sighting. The caller could've sworn they saw Dabi in a warehouse near the edge of town." Chris stood up out of his seat. "I need that address." The police sergeant gave the address and hung up. Tamaki called Endeavor, who was out on patrol with Shoto. Chris ran to the office where his friends were sleeping. "Wake up!" Momo was quick to wake up. "What?!" "We have a possible lead!" Kirishima, Momo, and Mina all ran to get geared up. If Endeavor called back and said that the lead was legitimate, then they would rush to the scene.

Shoto and Endeavor stood behind some cover. Endeavor was concealing his flames as much as possible. Shoto was itching to rush in, but knew she would have to wait. Endeavor was speaking quietly into his phone, talking to Fatgum. Shoto looked over at him. "Now?" "Not yet. We need to wait for-" They saw Dabi walk past a window and disappear into the shadows inside. Endeavor spoke into his phone. "We have a visual on Dabi. Get here soon." "Alright Endeavor, we're on our way. We should be there in ten minutes." Shoto looked at her father. "Kurogiri might warp them away by then." Endeavor thought for a minute before speaking into his phone. "Fatgum, we're going in." "Hey, wait for-" Endeavor hung up. The two Todorokis ran forward, using their fire to melt the wall of the warehouse.